Jun 30, 2021

Hunt: Showdown 1896 - Cry_Ic3man2k

Hunters,

Today's blog is all about a spike in hit registration issues in the game that you guys in the community have reported to us. This kind of problem is a high priority for us, and we appreciate everyone who got in touch about these issues. We have been investigating the cases reported, and we'd like to let you know what we found and what actions we have taken so far.

First of all, of course, we looked into the data. And there was a lot of it! Just a few days of hit registration data from the game generates over 100GB of data to analyze! So, as you can imagine, it's no small task to work through all of this data, work out what has been happening and why.

Our investigations found that the most reported hit reg issues occurred during close-quarters combat. In this situation, one player fires at an enemy player but does not get a hit marker, meaning they do not kill the enemy, despite seeing hits on the enemy causing a blood splatter effect. This is an obvious cause of frustration. This scenario was not the only area of hit registration error that we found from reported cases. However, from what we saw in the data, it is a significant one, and since we have taken action, it's an area where we have seen a dramatic improvement in hit reg errors.

First, we want to explain how hit registration works before we get on to what changes we have made. You can read our REALLY in-depth blog into the system here. For a brief recap, Hunt's networking model—like those of many games—is built around the concept of a dedicated server. When you matchmake into a game, you are connected to a dedicated Hunt server. This server runs a special version of the game, using the same logic as the game running on your computer, but skipping the bits it doesn't need to do its job.

The dedicated server is basically in charge of the game world. It has authority over player positions, physics, and other related aspects of the game. The version of Hunt running on your computer is called the client. The dedicated server sends your client a copy of the game world. This copy is updated regularly via the network.

Meanwhile, the client acts on your input and updates the dedicated server on what you are doing in-game. Although the internet is fast, it isn't instant, so when your client sends the server a message telling it that you've just pulled the trigger on your Caldwell, that message isn't instant either. This delay is typically called network latency, and it is measured in milliseconds (1 second=1000milliseconds=1000ms).

When it comes to hit registration, Hunt allows clients to predicatively interact with their view of the server state and uses a hit validation system to verify that shots and melee attacks are valid. This system takes the "favor the shooter" approach, meaning that a shot is considered valid as long as it is deemed legitimate according to the server's game state history. However, this process is complicated by the nature of latency and de-synchronization between client and server.
The crux of our work is in improving the hit validation system so that it is lenient enough about desyncs that it doesn't invalidate legitimate shots but strict enough that it doesn't open up the game to exploitation.

So, onto our investigation.

When we looked into our data about when and why shots are being invalidated from the server, we found that many invalidations happen because the server perceived the player whose shots were invalidated as already dead. Based on this, we were able to isolate this particular issue and improve this situation significantly. With the release of Update 1.5.2.1, we included a fix for these kinds of validation instances, and since the update's release, we have been monitoring and investigating data from the game. We are pleased to let you know that we have seen a big improvement in hit registration issues. In addition, as a result of making hit registration more precise, with fewer fair shots being invalidated and a more fair and accurate exchange of hits, we have seen a proportionate increase in kill trades.

Our team is continuing to investigate further server-related and hit registration issues. We have not solved all of the cases that you have been in touch about, but work continues to address reported issues. Bear with us. Furthermore, if and when you encounter hit registration issues, please do report them to us. Video clips of any problems you come across in the game, regardless of whether they are hit registration cases or not, are the best things to send to us so we can find and fix any potential problems. Our goal is to make Hunt the best it can be, and we can't do that without you, the community, letting us know about bugs, problems, issues, or any other feedback.

Again, we want to thank everyone in the community who has reported cases to us and sent in video clips so far. Looking at the data, we can say for certain that the situation has improved. However, we haven't finished our work here, and you may still come across hit reg issues. We are looking deeper into the system to see how we can take further action and improve hit registration across the board. Please keep sending us your feedback, and know that we are committed to solving any reported and unreported problems.

See you in the bayou,

Your Hunt Team.

++

Don't own Hunt yet? Get your copy for PC on Steam or from the Crytek shop. For Xbox, head to the MicrosoftStore, and for PS4, find Hunt on the PlayStationStore.

Got queries or questions? Stop by our social media channels and let us know:

Discord + XboxClub + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram + Xbox + Steam

Jun 30, 2021

Animal Wednesday #22

Zooconomy - Mamont Ru$$eL`

Let's head again to the Australia to meet another unique animal, which almost went extinct in the 1940th - Tasmanian devil.

Tasmanian devil

The Tasmanian devil is the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. It has a squat, thick build, with a large head and a tail which is about half its body length. Unusually for a marsupial, its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs, and devils can run up to 13 km/h (8.1 mph) for short distances. The fur is usually black, often with irregular white patches on the chest and rump (although approximately 16% of wild devils do not have white patches). These markings suggest that the devil is most active at dawn and dusk, and they are thought to draw biting attacks toward less important areas of the body, as fighting between devils often leads to a concentration of scars in that region.

Males are usually larger than females, having an average head and body length of 652 mm (25.7 in), a 258 mm (10.2 in) tail and an average weight of 8 kg (18 lb). Females have an average head and body length of 570 mm (22 in), a 244 mm (9.6 in) tail and an average weight of 6 kg (13 lb), although devils in western Tasmania tend to be smaller. Devils have five long toes on their forefeet, four pointing to the front and one coming out from the side, which gives the devil the ability to hold food. The hind feet have four toes, and the devils have non-retractable claws. The stocky devils have a relatively low centre of mass.

Tasmanian devils can take prey up to the size of a small kangaroo, but in practice they are opportunistic and eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey. Although the devil favours wombats because of the ease of predation and high fat content, it will eat all small native mammals such as wallabies, bettong and potoroos, domestic mammals (including sheep and rabbits), birds (including penguins), fish, fruit, vegetable matter, insects, tadpoles, frogs and reptiles. Their diet is widely varied and depends on the food available.

Before the extinction of the thylacine, the Tasmanian devil ate thylacine joeys left alone in dens when their parents were away. This may have helped to hasten the extinction of the thylacine, which also ate devils. They are known to hunt water rats by the sea and forage on dead fish that have been washed ashore. Near human habitation, they can also steal shoes and chew on them, and eat the legs of otherwise robust sheep when they have slipped in wooden shearing sheds, leaving their legs dangling below. Other unusual matter observed in devil scats includes collars and tags of devoured animals, intact echidna spines, pencil, plastic and jeans. Devils can bite through metal traps, and tend to reserve their strong jaws for escaping captivity rather than breaking into food storage.

Distribution

Devils are found in all habitats on the island of Tasmania, including the outskirts of urban areas, and are distributed throughout the Tasmanian mainland and on Robbins Island (which is connected to mainland Tasmania at low tide). The north-western population is located west of the Forth River and as far south as Macquarie Heads. Previously, they were present on Bruny Island from the 19th century, but there have been no records of them after 1900. They were illegally introduced to Badger Island in the mid-1990s but were removed by the Tasmanian government by 2007. It is proposed that devils would have fewer impacts on both livestock and native fauna than dingoes, and that the mainland population could act as an additional insurance population.

The "core habitat" of the devils is considered to be within the "low to moderate annual rainfall zone of eastern and north-western Tasmania". Tasmanian devils particularly like dry sclerophyll forests and coastal woodlands. Although they are not found at the highest altitudes of Tasmania, and their population density is low in the button grass plains in the south-west of the state, their population is high in dry or mixed sclerophyll forests and coastal heaths. Devils prefer open forest to tall forest, and dry rather than wet forests. They are also found near roads where roadkill is prevalent, although the devils themselves are often killed by vehicles while retrieving the carrion. According to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, their versatility means that habitat modification from destruction is not seen as a major threat to the species.

Conservation

Widespread across Australia in the Pleistocene, the Tasmanian devil had declined and become restricted to three relict populations during the mid-Holocene period around 3,000 years ago. Rock art and a single fossil near Darwin point to a northern population, and remains in the southeast signify a southeastern population ranging from the mouth of the Murray River eastwards to the vicinity of Port Phillip in Victoria. This population had contracted from northern Victoria and New South Wales. The rising sea levels in the Holocene also cut it off from Tasmanian populations. The third population was from southwest Western Australia.

The cause of their disappearance from the mainland is unclear, but their decline seems to coincide with an abrupt change in climate and the expansion across the mainland of indigenous Australians and dingoes. However, whether it was direct hunting by people, competition with dingoes, changes brought about by the increasing human population, who by 3000 years ago were using all habitat types across the continent, or a combination of all three, is unknown; devils had coexisted with dingoes on the mainland for around 3000 years.

Wild populations are considered to be "endangered" and are listed on Appendix II of CITES.

That's it for today. See you all next time.

Join our Discord channel
Follow us in Twitter
Follow us in VK

Jun 30, 2021

Notice Regarding DFO Hero Academy Event Abuse (2) *UPDATED*

Dungeon Fighter Online - DFO

Greetings Adventurers,

We would like to inform you of the following measures regarding abuse of the "Altimate Power Leveling 3.0 - DFO Hero Academy" event.

1. Although the standard procedure for abusing event features would be to enforce account bans, the illicit items obtained through the event have been confiscated and event rewards reissued.

2. Accounts that have utilized multiple characters to Transcend multiple +12 Reinforced, +8 Refined Weapons will be issued the original event reward Weapon Box once per account. Such users must send us a ticket at https://neople.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new with the IGN of the character they wish to receive the reward with. Details regarding when the reward will be reissued to these accounts will be posted in the near future.

3. We will continue monitoring the situation, and will take reasonable action to ensure fairness in cases where items were issued/received unfairly.

4. Players who have selected/created Event Characters prior to the JUN 30 emergency maintenance and wish to reselect their Event Character can send us a ticket at https://neople.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new to have their current Event Character deleted during the JUL 13 maintenance, thus allowing the reselection of another Event Character. However, reward items that have been obtained must be intact and in the character's possession. Accounts with event rewards that have been altered (Inherited, Transcended) will not be eligible to have their Event Character deleted.

Thank you.

- Dungeon Fighter Online Support Team

Jun 30, 2021

Dead by Daylight 5th Anniversary Event

Dead by Daylight - ThomasBHVR

Dead by Daylight is celebrating its fifth birthday and the party just wouldn’t be the same without you.

Check out our 5th Anniversary Event trailer below, then read on for details on everything you can expect when you log in to celebrate with us from June 30th to July 22nd.

NEW YEAR, NEW ANNIVERSARY CROWN

Anniversary Crowns are back in Dead by Daylight, and they’re better than ever. Our new, more intricate crowns can be claimed by any original Killer or Survivor – but you’ve got to find them first.

Special Crown Pedestals will spawn inside of every trial. Discover and interact with them to gain a golden glow which will stay with you for the rest of the match. Go on to escape the trial as a Survivor, or simply complete the trial as a Killer and this celebratory cosmetic is your keep.

COMMUNITY CHALLENGES

Dead by Daylight is all about community, and once again we’re giving our fans the chance to team up to earn exclusive outfits.

During our 5th Anniversary event, Anniversary Crowns will be tracked at a community level with multiple shared goals. Collectively meet these goals to unlock exclusive charms and cosmetics, including outfits for David King and The Wraith. All details, updates, and codes will be shared through our social channels so follow Dead by Daylight and never miss a beat!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/deadbybhvr     
Instagram: https://instagram.com/deadbydaylight     

DECKED OUT TRIALS

It wouldn’t be a Dead by Daylight anniversary if we didn’t deck out the Entity’s Realm to mark the occasion.

From custom loading screens to the return of confetti-launching Flashlights, Med Kits, and Toolboxes, to environmental flourishes for generators, hooks, lockers, and barrels; playing during the event will feel anything but ordinary.

SHRINE OF SECRETS

Our 5th anniversary is also the perfect opportunity to not only get your hands on some Perks, but to get a great deal in the process.

Until July 13th, the Shrine of Secrets will be on a daily rotation and feature Perks from almost every single character in Dead by Daylight. Plus, every Perk will be 500 shards off! Got a lot of Iridescent Shards burning a hole in your pocket? Take advantage while you can!

GIVEAWAYS

As a thank-you for celebrating with us by playing Dead by Daylight, over the first 7 days of the event we’ll be giving away a total of 9,000 Iridescent Shards per player just for logging in. Players logging in before July 15th will still be able to claim earlier login rewards, so no one misses out. These will add up to enough to purchase an entire original character, on us.

Finally, when you first log in during the event before July 15th, you’ll receive a 500,000 Bloodpoint gift, so you’ll be able to quickly gain access to the new event items in your Bloodwebs.

Thanks for an incredible five years of kills and thrills. Here’s to many more.

-The Dead by Daylight Team

Jun 30, 2021

Developer Diary: Exploration

Spirit of the Island - KyuKyu

Hello Adventurers! The last few weeks were an amazing experience for all of us! Thank you for your overwhelming support and lots of feedback about our demo! You help us make the game better for everyone!

Today we’d like to talk a bit more about one of the systems that weren’t fully present in the demo — Exploration. It’s easily one of the most important aspects of the game!

The game will feature 14 unique islands. Quite a lot of places to explore! Here’s the game’s map so you have a better idea of how it will look after you visit everything (work in progress, some of these might change).

First things first: to visit other islands, you’ll need to pick one of the three different boats. A more expensive boat will allow you to reach faraway shores (they also require resources, like fuel that you can craft yourself). We bet you’ve noticed that some islands don’t have an anchor sign. That’s because these can’t be reached by sea, and you’ll visit them through different means, which will remain secret until Early Access lands. Here’s a little hint: explorable caves that are filled with lots of different riches, secrets, and fearsome enemies, like this little guy:

While exploring, you can also unlock different regions and POIs (points of interest) on your map. There will be quests, unique creatures, and fauna in many of those places. Exploration is also a key to exploring your pa... Whoops! Can’t tell anything more! No spoilers in our updates!

We’ll share more details about caves and the Exploration skill in one of our Kickstarter updates later on! If you don’t want to miss it, follow our page today!

Thank you!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1592110/Spirit_of_the_Island/